


can i have this dance?

by zoya_18



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Past Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-23 18:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17085647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoya_18/pseuds/zoya_18
Summary: Steve's old life ended seventy years prior, finishing with a vow that he would never be able to keep. But, maybe he'd be able to fulfil it with someone else. Maybe not the partner he thought but definitely the right one.





	can i have this dance?

"You've been staring at her for, what, five minutes now? Go, talk to her, Cap." Tony said, swiftly moving from beside Pepper to stand beside the super-soldier.

Steve tore his eyes away from the laughing red-head and his metal armed best friend to turn towards the genius, his blue eyes narrowing.

"What are you talking about?" Steve questioned, trying to stop the slight blush from rising on his cheeks.

"You and Romanoff have been making googly eyes at each other all night," Tony started, raising a hand when Steve went to interject. "You have been and you know it. This is a _party_ , Steven! Don't wallow like you've done all the other times, have fun!" Tony exclaimed, clinking his glass with Steve's half empty beer bottle.

Steve rolled his eyes, turning back towards Natasha and Bucky. It seemed that since Bucky had returned from his disappearance after Washington, he had fit perfectly with the team and especially with Natasha, much to Steve's dismay. The two were talking to each other like they were old friends, like they had known each other for decades.

And Steve didn't like it at all.

He should have been happy that his two friends were getting along, like his past and present were colliding, but it always gave him a swell of anger when he saw the pair talking. Especially since he had found out that the pair had had a thing in the Red Room, when Bucky was training her.

"Natasha's my friend, Tony. Nothing more, nothing less." Steve said quietly, his jaw clenched as he saw Bucky give her  _that_ smirk; the smirk he gave all the ladies back in the forties, when he wanted to go home with them.

"Is it working?" Natasha questioned quietly, her Vodka Martini in hand as she sat beside her former lover.

Bucky's steel blue eyes darted towards Steve, who was glaring at pair with a clenched jaw as Tony talked quietly to him. "Oh yeah, he's one hundred percent jealous. That punk hated when I smiled like that because he knew that I would end up leaving him to go home with the girl."

"Did it work?" Natasha questioned, taking a sip of her martini.

Bucky chuckled, the various memories popping up into his head. "Like a charm. Every time I did that, I'd go home with her."

"Ah, we have a playboy over here." Natasha mused as Bucky rolled his eyes, laughing softly.

"Yeah, I was pretty bad before the war. That's why I was glad to get out of there when the war started, so these women wouldn't come and attack me." Bucky revealed, a nostalgic smile falling on his face.

"What about Steve? How was he with the ladies?" Natasha questioned, genuinely curious about Steve's life before the war.

"He was terrible," Bucky said, thankful that Bruce and Tony had helped fix his memories when he arrived at the Avengers Tower months prior. "He was ninety pounds and absolutely tiny, I towered over him. He only ever had his eyes on one woman though."

"Agent Carter." Natasha stated, remembering how closed off Steve had been when she had asked about her.

Bucky nodded sadly, turning back towards Steve once again. "They were meant to dance, you know. He told me that the last thing he said before he went into the ice was that he would meet her at the Stork Club and she'd teach him how to dance." Bucky said quietly, his heart sinking as he thought of the hard life his best friend had been through ever since he was a young child.

"He never talks about his life, before the war. When we'd ask him about it, he'd give short answers. A blind person could see that he was uncomfortable." Natasha revealed, her green eyes flickering towards Steve, one of the only people she trusted with her life.

"Steve's never had an easy life, he's always been fighting in one way or another, whether it was the war, his health or even himself. He needs a partner, someone he can relax with." Bucky said, staring pointedly at Natasha.

The red-head turned sharply towards Bucky, her eyebrow raised. "Me? You're out of your mind, James."

"He couldn't imagine his life without you and you couldn't imagine your life without him. He loves you and you love him, I can tell."

"So do you, you love him." Natasha retorted, wanting to end the conversation there and then.

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I love him like a brother. There's something there between you two, something I haven't seen for seventy years," Bucky said, standing up and giving Natasha a small smile. "You both deserve a win, Natalia. Hopefully, you two can make the right decision."

With that, Bucky walked away towards Sam and Rhodes, who were playing pool. Natasha glared at his retorting figure, not wanting to listen to what he had said. There was no way her and Steve could make it work, she was a spy and he was a soldier; they were polar opposites. Yet, James was right; she couldn't imagine her life without Steve and that impulsive super-soldier had wormed his way into Natasha's heart.

When Natasha turned to glance at Steve, she saw that he was already blatantly staring at her, a soft smile on his face.

"Shit." Natasha grumbled, feeling her heart fluttering slightly as she caught the dreamy look on her teammate's face, before storming off towards the bar to attempt to drink her conflicting feelings away.

///

Steve groaned, turning over in his bed and glaring at the clock. 

**3:32AM.**

The blond threw off the covers and threw on an old t-shirt, making his way into the kitchen to get a snack. It was times like this that Steve was  _very_ glad he couldn't get drunk because he knew that he would have had alcohol poisoning had he not had the serum running through his veins with the amount he had drank the night prior.

Steve - in his old gym shorts and tight t-shirt - walked into the kitchen area and poured himself a glass of water, grabbing the bag of chips that Tony had hidden away in the back of one of the drawers.

"Couldn't sleep?" A voice mused and Steve whipped around, his body tensing into an attack position, but visibly calmed when he saw that it was just a smirking Natasha, leaning against the wall.

"Guess you could say that." Steve said, his mouth dry as he looked over at Natasha's clothes; she was in a tank top and shorts, her now shoulder-length red hair tied up into a high ponytail.

"Those are Tony's." Natasha said, taking a pack of gummy bears from the drawer and grabbing herself a beer.

"They're mine now." Steve retorted, giving the woman a small smile.

Natasha chuckled, walking into the living room and sitting down on the sofa with a sigh. "You can sit, you know. It'll be good for your back."

Steve rolled his eyes, sitting down beside her. "Are you ever going to stop with those?" He questioned, referring to the old man jokes, and Natasha raised her eyebrow at him.

"Of course not, it's insane that you would ask that." Natasha stated before a small smirk fell on her face.

"What?" Steve questioned, watching the glint shine in the woman's eyes.

"FRIDAY, can you please play  'Linger In My Arms A Little Longer' by Peggy Lee, please? Not too loud?" Natasha questioned to the thin air, hearing the song start to play quietly. "Peggy Lee, an icon. You know her?" Natasha questioned, turning to Steve, who shook his head.

"No, not this one, this must have come out after I went under."

The song played quietly in the background as Steve gained the courage to stand up and hold out his hand, giving Natasha a soft smile.

"Can I have this dance, Miss. Romanoff?" Steve questioned and Natasha chuckled as she took his calloused hand.

"I never thought you'd ask." Natasha said, standing up and facing the man.

He placed his hand on her hip, pulling her close, as the pair swayed to the beautiful song. Natasha rested her head on his chest, her body melting into his as she closed her eyes; it was quiet, peaceful, something that was very hard to find in the hectic Tower. The pair barely registered the song ending as they were too enamoured with the moment, with the sense of calm that washed over them.

Natasha pulled away, Steve's hand clasped around hers tightly, as their eyes met; light blue and bright green.

"Steve..." Natasha breathed out, her heart racing as she looked at her friend, but Steve stopped her, closing the small gap between them and kissing her softly. Her lips were just as soft as Steve had thought and she slowly started to kiss him back, her hand resting on his cheek as he placed his hands firmly on her hips.

Almost immediately after, Steve pulled away. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, moving backwards slightly.

Natasha shook her head, her heart pounding in her chest and her palms sweaty, as she looked down at her feet. "It's okay." She replied, her voice shaky.

Steve sat down on the couch, his entire body tense, as he thought of just getting away from the situation. "We shouldn't have done that."

Natasha's head whipped towards Steve, slightly shocked but more-so hurt by his words. The red-head clenched her jaw, wondering why  _she_ of all people had to fall for the all-around good guy Steve Rogers. "Why?" Natasha questioned softly, her eyes trained firmly on Steve's hunched body.

The soldier looked up with wide eyes, confused as to what she was saying. "Natasha-"

"I'm not very good at relationships, I've only ever been in one but that ended pretty badly," Natasha admitted, not wanting to explain her ex-husband's death right at that moment in time, a vulnerability shining in her eyes. "But, I know that... if I wanted to be in a relationship, I'd want to be with you," Steve watched the woman's face in shock, watching how the mask she normally wore fell as she spoke to the blond. "I wanna try this out, Steve. If you don't want to, that's fine, we'll forget this ever happened." Natasha said, her voice now cold as she went back to her reserved self, as she looked over at the now-standing man.

Steve's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he repeated the woman's words in his head, attempting to get over the fact that Natasha had just admitted her feelings to him.

In Steve's hesitation, Natasha's heart fell as she realised that she had just misinterpreted the flirting and jealous looks for something else. 

"Okay," Steve said softly, just as Natasha was about to walk away. The woman looked at him in shock, not expecting that answer at all. "I haven't had the... best track record with women, as I'm sure Bucky has told you," Steve said with a chuckle, a soft smile falling on his face that made Natasha's heart flutter. "But, I've liked you for a while, Nat. And, I want to try this out too."

Steve walked slowly towards Natasha, taking hold of her hand.

"You're really warm." Natasha muttered, her eyes flickering down to Steve's lips.

"Side effect of the serum." Steve breathed out, capturing the red-head's lips into another warm kiss.

When they finally pulled away, Natasha rested her head on Steve's chest, finally feeling a peace that she hadn't felt since Alexi.

"So, how much money do you think Tony owes Bucky?" Steve questioned, hearing Natasha's quiet laughter that sent his heart racing.

"Depends how much they cared about us."

/// 

"I hate them," Tony muttered angrily, slapping a ten dollar note into Bucky's outstretched hand. "Oh, get that smug look off your face, Barnes."

"I believe that money is mine," The pair turned to see Pepper, the woman's eyebrow raised as she glanced over at the monitor, where Bucky and Tony were looking over at the footage FRIDAY had gotten from the night before of Steve and Natasha. "You said that they would get together the next day. Technically, the sun hadn't risen and neither of them had gone to sleep. So, money." Pepper said, holding out her hand.

Bucky went to argue but Tony shook his head, sighing. "She'll figure out a way to get that money back, Barnes, believe me. Just give her it and save yourself the torment." Tony said as Bucky gave him an incredulous look, shocked that _the_ Tony Stark was so whipped.

Bucky turned back towards Pepper and saw the glint in her eye and the raised eyebrow that reminded him severely of his own mother (and Mrs. Barnes was not a woman to be crossed) so he grudgingly gave the woman the money.

"Pleasure doing business with you, boys." Pepper sang, leaving the lab with a smug smile on her face.

"How did she do that?" Bucky questioned faintly, watching the woman walk away.

"Some people turn green, others are trained in martial arts. Pepper? She's dealt with reporters, various agents and me for a  _very_ long time. She's her own superhero." Tony said, watching his girlfriend walk away in awe.

"Wow." Bucky said, amazed.

Tony chuckled quietly, turning back to the monitor with a grin. "Wow, indeed."


End file.
